Principals of Beekeeping : How to Use a Queen Bee Excluder

[WorldOfBeekeeping]

Queen excluders are awesome! Love the videos, wish they were a bit longer though (that's a good thing right?)

[hop1pop]

Do you have to add more supers for more brood space?

What would happen if you let your bees swarm naturally?

Would you be left with no more bees in your hive?

[woodswoman783]

I've heard both view points on the extruder. I've never used one myself and am wondering to those who do use one, could you tell me the positives and negatives of using one. Thanks

[judge6754]

Queen excluders, please don't use them , except for the purpose they are intended , to keep the Queen from laying brood in your Honey. if you place one on the bottom it would be a grave mistake, think about it.

[ringadingadan]

A queen excluder is good to use (at the bottom of the hive) to keep the queen in the new hive when you have hived a swarm. Remove it after a couple of days when she has started laying. Otherwise the queen will not leave the hive except for mating, and of course swarming.

[1010100101]

is it smart to prevent swarming by placing the queen excluder underneath the 1'st Body deep hive thus keeping your queen locked up in the hive? So having 2 queen excluders ... my only worry is if workers going to hate it or not.

[sekboi]

Well it prevents swarming....sort of. It doesn't fix the problems making them want to swarm in the first place and if left in place on the bottom, it restricts traffic making it more difficult for foragers to capitalize on "good" days. Excluders slow traffic no matter how they are used. In half a century, I have never used them.

[ringadingadan]

No definitely not. You have to satisfy the swarming instinctly somehow, there are various methods, but not by restraining the queen.

[michigan1010]

hello , im new to be a beekeeper . when to add the Queen Excluder and when to take it off ? and how big are those holes on that frame ? thank you

[danboone143]

Put it on when you add your honey super (which should be early spring).

[ringadingadan]

Put the queen excluder on when you expect to add honey supers above the brood, to collect the pure honey that you can harvest. The grill is spaced so that only the standard females can get up there, not the queen or drones. In practice only the foragers, wax workers and fanners will go up there, to prepare the honey, while the younger bees stay with the brood below.